[Avodah] When does mixed swimming mean?

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Apr 28, 2008 at 07:16:45PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
: 1. At Marienbad did one take the waters in a communal pool, or in
: individual baths?
: 2. If a communal pool, was it mixed?  Surely not!

My understanding is that these health spas had a communal bath without
separate hours. That with 19th cent bathing suits (and care to avoid
negi'ah), many of our greatgrandparents' role models had no problem
mixed swimming.

Your surprise is just presuming your conclusion. ("Could it be that
Yaakov walked /without/ a yarmulka?")

Perhaps the fact that it was generally for recouperation (choleh she'ein
bo sakanah) makes it impossible to generalize to swimming as a
recreation. And in any case, the change in bathing attire makes it
rarely applicable today anyway.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
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